Nightingale & Seacole Flashcards
During the 1860s Elizabeth Garrett worked as a nurse and then attended lectures as the Middlesex hospital.
What male opposition was met?
Male students at the Middlesex hospital protested that she should not be allowed to attend lectures.
Elizabeth Garrett passed all exams to qualify as a doctor. The final step before she could work as one was to become a member of one of the Colleges of Surgeons, Physicians or Apothecaries.
What male opposition was met?
The Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians refused to allow female members. Garrett had to take the College of Apothecaries to court before it accepted her as a member.
After that, it too changed its rules so that women could not become members.
In 1874, six women, led by Sophia Jex-Blake, completed the medical course at Edinburgh university.
What male opposition was met?
Edinburgh university said it could on,y give medical degrees to men. The women had to complete their degrees in Dublin or Switzerland.
In 1876 a law was passed opening all medical qualifications to women.
What male opposition was met?
For 5 years after 1876 the Royal College of Surgeons refused to allow anyone to take exams in midwifery as a way of preventing women from learning alongside men.
When did the Crimean war start?
1854 (between Britain and France, and Russia)
Why could people in Britain for the first time receive rapid news of the conditions and the fighting at the Crimean war?
Thanks to reports sent back by W. H. Russell.
What was Florence Nightingale’s life like before the Crimean war?
She was born into a wealthy family who were horrified by her wanting to be a nurse.
She trained in Germany, returning to work as a nurse and becoming Superintendent of a Nurses in a London hospital.
Her father was active in the anti-slavery movement.
What was Mary Seacole’s life like before the Crimean war?
She was born in Jamaica, the daughter of a local healer and a free black slave, and so became a very knowledgable healer and midwife.
Her father was a Scottish soldier.
She gained more experience in Panama where she showed people how to deal with an outbreak of cholera, isolating patients and cleaning out dirt. She also treated gunshot wounds.
Who was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain?
Elizabeth Garrett
In what year did cholera come go Kingston?
1850
How did Nightingale travel to Crimea?
When she heard reports of the terrible conditions in the Crimea in The Times, she talked to the minister for war, Sidney Herbert, who was a family friend. He arranged for her to take 38 nurses to the Crimea.
How did Seacole travel to the Crimea?
In 1854 she travelled to Britain and volunteered her services to the army but no one would see her. She paid her own way to the Crimea.
Who was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the USA?
Elizabeth Blackwell in 1849
What happened when Florence arrived at the army hospital in Scutari?
She was appalled by the dirty conditions. She concentrated on cleaning the hospital and the patients, despite opposition from army doctors.
Where did Florence and her nurses work?
At the hospital, not on the frontline.
What evidence is there that hospital conditions improved after Florence’s arrival?
The death-rate there fell from 40% of wounded to 2%.
What happened when Seacole arrived in the Crimea?
She set up her own ‘British Hotel’ providing food and drinks it the soldiers.
Where did Seacole work whilst in the Crimea?
At her British Hotel.
She also treated sickness and tended the wounded on the battlefield. Her bravery I’m doing this while the fighting continued made her hugely popular and highly respected among the soldiers.
What happened when nightingale returned to Britain?
She became a national heroine and this helped her to raise money to set up her first nursing school. Training focused on hygiene and cleanliness to prevent infections and diseases spreading in hospitals.
What two books did nightingale write?
1859- Notes on Nursing
1863- Notes on Hospitals
What was the impact of nightingales two books?
They were very influential all over the world, providing the basis for training nurses and hospital design. Her work concentrated on cleanliness and providing fresh air.
What happened when Mary Seacole returned to Britain?
She returned without money and went bankrupt. Ex-soldiers, The Times and Punch tried to raise funds to help her but this failed when the organising company went bankrupt.
She was better off after publishing her memoirs but nobody in Britain tried to use or learn from her medical skills.
How were these problems in the 1860s solved by the 1920s:
Unhygienic surgery dressings, untrained nurses, cramped and stuffy wards, poor sanitation and sewerage, and a lack of cleanliness?
Aseptic surgery and dressings Trained nurses Spacious, light, well-ventilated wards Good sanitation and toilets Cleanliness
What theory of disease did nightingale believe in?
Miasma
She had been brought up in the early 1800s when bad air was the main theory about what caused disease. She paid little attention to Pasteur’s germ theory and continued to associate disease with dirt.
